APUSH - Unit 5

Page 1: Timeline of Significant Events

• 1846: Beginning of the Mexican-American War

• 1848: Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ends the Mexican-American War

• 1850: Compromise of 1850

• 1852: Publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe

• 1854: Ostend Manifesto - rational for the purchase of Cuba from SpainThis document asserted that the U.S. had a right to acquire Cuba by any means necessary, including military force, which heightened tensions over the expansion of slavery. 1857: Dred Scott v. Sandford - Supreme Court case that ruled African Americans were not citizens and had no standing to sue in federal court, further intensifying the national debate over slavery.

• 1856:

  • Beginning of "Bleeding Kansas"

  • The beating of Senator Charles Sumner

• 1857: Dred Scott v. Sandford decision

• 1859: John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry arsenal

• 1860:

  • Election of Abraham Lincoln

  • South Carolina secedes from the United States

• 1861:

  • Inauguration of Lincoln

  • Six more Deep South states secede

  • Fighting at Fort Sumter; Civil War begins

  • Four states from upper South secede

  • First Confiscation Act

• 1862:

  • Homestead Act

  • Morrill Land Grant Act

  • Second Confiscation Act

  • Robert E. Lee becomes commander of Confederate army; achieves significant battlefield victories

• 1863:

  • The Emancipation Proclamation goes into effect

  • Union victories at Gettysburg and Vicksburg

  • New York City Draft Riots

• 1864:

  • Grant besieges Richmond

  • Reelection of Lincoln

  • Sherman's March to the Sea

• 1865:

  • Freedman's Bureau established

  • Richmond Falls; Confederacy surrenders

  • Lincoln assassinated; Andrew Johnson assumes presidency

  • Southern states begin to pass Black Codes

  • Thirteenth Amendment ratified

  • Beginning of Great Sioux War

Page 2: Overview of AP U.S. History Period 5

• Timeframe: 1844-1877, termed "Slavery, Civil War, and the Transformation of American Society"

• Expansion of U.S.:

  • Territorial, economic, and population growth caused sectional tensions, primarily over slavery.

• Moral questions about slavery led to Civil War, changing American society.

• Free-soil ideology emerged, advocating for western lands to be free from slave competition.

• Increasing entrenchment of positions on slavery noted leading up to war.

Page 3: Significance of the Civil War

• The Civil War addressed slavery's role in American democracy.

• Key Points:

  1. Westward expansion caused implications for Canada, Mexico, and American Indians.

  2. Mexican-American War ignited debates about slavery in new territories.

  3. Controversies regarding slavery intensified with territory acquisition.

  4. Regional divisions escalated due to ideological and demographic changes.

  5. Repeated attempts at political compromise failed in the 1850s.

  6. Trust between Northern and Southern political leaders deteriorated by 1860.

Page 4: Election of 1860 and Union Victory

• Result of the 1860 election caused Southern states to secede.

• Union Victory Factors:

  1. Larger population and industrial capacity of the North.

  2. Shift in Civil War focus towards ending slavery contributed to victory.

  3. Civil War changed state-federal relations, affirming no secession.

  4. Discussions on citizenship resurfaced, focusing on women and African Americans.

  5. Gains made by African Americans during Reconstruction were challenged post-war.

Page 5: Manifest Destiny and Westward Expansion

• Manifest Destiny: Belief that U.S. expansion was preordained.

• Oregon Trail: Main route to the Pacific Northwest.

• Forty-Niners: 300,000 migrated to California in 1849 during the Gold Rush.

• Morrill Land Grant Act (1862): Promoted public education in western territories.

• Pacific Railroad Act (1862): Supported transcontinental railroad development.

• Homestead Act (1862): Offered free land in the West to settlers.

• Mexican-American War:

  • Texas annexation key issue.

  • Disputes over borders led to conflict.

Page 6: Important Treaties and Policies

• Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848): Ended the Mexican-American War; U.S. acquisition of territory.

• Reservations: Confined American Indian lands, often unsuitable for farming.

• Compromise of 1850 influenced regional tensions:

  • Wilmot Proviso attempted to ban slavery in new territories but failed.

  • Popular Sovereignty allowed territories to decide on slavery.

  • California's admission as a free state opposed by the South.

Page 7: Compromise of 1850 and Nativism

• Key elements of the Compromise of 1850:

  • Admittance of California as a free state

  • Stricter Fugitive Slave Law

  • Popular Sovereignty for Utah and New Mexico.

• Nativism: Increased immigration led to xenophobic backlash.

• Fugitive Slave Act alarmed Northerners due to enforcement provocations.

• Uncle Tom’s Cabin published in 1852, polarized views on slavery.

Page 8: Major Legal and Ideological Shifts

• Kansas-Nebraska Act: Proposed by Stephen Douglas; divided territories leading to conflict.

• Dred Scott v. Sandford: Supreme Court ruling denied citizenship rights to African Americans and invalidated the Missouri Compromise.

• Free Labor Ideology central to Republican arguments against slavery.

Page 9: Lincoln's Election and Civil War Onset

• Election of 1860 caused alarm in the South, leading to secession.

• Lincoln's stance: maintain the Union while avoiding war initially.

• Confederate States of America formed, highlighted by Fort Sumter bombardment.

Page 10: Wartime Policy Changes

• Emancipation Proclamation: Freed slaves in rebel territories as of January 1, 1863; altered war goals.

• Juneteenth: June 19, 1865, announcement marking the end of slavery.

• Battle of Gettysburg: Significant turning point in the war; Lincoln's address emphasized democratic ideals.

Page 11: Post-War Legislation and Social Changes

• Thirteenth Amendment (1865): Abolished slavery in the U.S.

• “Ten Percent” Plan: Lincoln's strategy for reintegrating Southern states.

• Black Codes: Restrictive laws regulating African Americans post-Civil War.

Page 12: Continuation of Social and Political Conflict

• Sharecropping System: Led to a cycle of debt for African Americans post-emancipation.

• Jim Crow Laws: Implemented segregation in the South, relegating African Americans to second-class status.

• Fourteenth Amendment: Intended to protect civil rights but was narrowly interpreted, allowing Jim Crow laws to flourish.